Exploring the Kirigiri Mansion
by WiiFan2009
Summary: After determining that their apartment simply isn't big enough to house their growing family, Makoto and a heavily pregnant Kyoko finally decide to explore Fuhito's mansion. Will their inheritance prove to be just the abode they're looking for?


A/N: Well, here's my next entry for Danganronpa Gaiden, taking place a month after Makoto and Kyoko's fight over the location of their baby's nursery. Please read and review, and enjoy!

The Ultimate Detective and The Ultimate Hope Gaiden: Exploring the Kirigiri Mansion

A large purple mansion loomed over them, its shadow as great as its legacy as Makoto stepped out of the car, walking around to the other side and opening the passenger door . He took his wife's hand, placing his other hand behind her back as he helped her to get out of the car, her other hand resting on the lavender maternity dress that covered her six-month pregnant belly. The two then looked up, the mansion's shadow making Makoto feel nervous.

Kyoko smirked and teased "Don't tell me you're feeling intimidated already. We haven't even gone inside, yet."

Smiling at his wife, Makoto admitted "It has been a long time since I was last here. And I didn't get to really enjoy it a few years ago, given…"

Kyoko wordlessly understood; Makoto had been so focused on winning her grandfather's blessing, and she with protecting him from Fuhito's…less than friendly qualities, that there hadn't really been time to give him a tour. She had just led him by the hand as she guided them to her grandfather's private study. Now however, things were different; with the mansion now belonging to them, and with a baby on the way, they now had to determine how to best live in their new house.

Which led them to where they were now, standing in front of their new house, preparing to inspect the inside so as to figure out for themselves how to best utilize it. Kyoko squeezed her husband's hand as she broke the ice to settle his nerves.

"I wouldn't mind splashing a little green on the exterior. You know, to match your eyes?"

Smiling at Kyoko's thoughtfulness, Makoto waved off her concern "We can decide on that later. I'm more interested with the inside than the outside." Taking a deep breath, he asked "So, shall we get this show on the road?"

At Kyoko's nod, Makoto led his wife to the front door, supporting her as they took the first steps into their new home.

XXX

"Oof!"

Kyoko laid her hand on her belly, her husband looking alarmed as she started to maneuver towards one of the reclining chairs in the living room.

"Kyoko! Easy, take it easy!"

He quickly moved to support her, letting her lean against him until she could collapse into the red, fuzzy chair. Once she was settled, Kyoko pulled onto the lever, her legs rocketing upwards as the bottom cushion swung outwards, supporting her aching legs.

"Kyoko? Are you okay? Is the baby…"

Kyoko smiled at the feel of another kick as she assured him "I'm fine, Makoto. Your kid is just being rambunctious, that's all." With a wry smirk, she continued "They've definitely inherited their father's energetic disposition."

Kneeling down next to her, Makoto reached under her dress to rub her belly, feeling his offspring's movements as he chided with a coo "Hey, hey! Ease up in there, little guy; you're making Mommy tired when you do that. It takes a lot of energy for her to carry you all the time. I know you're eager to get out of there and move around. We are too, but we've still got a couple more months to go. So can you please save the moving and kicking until we're in bed together?"

Almost instantaneously, the baby in Kyoko's womb settled down, letting her sigh in relief and admire Makoto's capabilities as a gentle father. Her eyebrows then raised in mild surprise as Makoto shuffled, still kneeling as he moved in front of her, unzipping her boots and rolling down her socks to slowly remove the articles of clothing and reveal her bare feet.

"Makoto, what are you doing?"

Smiling awkwardly, Makoto answered "You did agree that I could pamper and wait on you once the third trimester hit, right? I just figured your feet must be sore, so I thought I'd help soothe them."

Kyoko nodded; ever since she had initially blown up at him for coddling her, Makoto had stayed true to his word and only assisted her with the little things when asked directly. Since she had entered the third trimester right after Christmas however, Kyoko found even the most menial tasks to be difficult. Her stamina had decreased, she had to rock back and forth a couple times before she could build the momentum to get out of bed or off the couch, she even found it difficult to walk reasonably long distances.

Luckily, Makoto had been by her side to help her; each morning he provided the leverage to stand up, he supported her back and let her lean on him to make walking easier, and when she genuinely felt like she couldn't walk, he took it upon himself to cradle her in his arms and carry her like he did on their wedding day, even if he was technically carrying two people now. Kyoko had been eternally grateful to have such a doting husband during the final stretch of her pregnancy, so naturally she hadn't complained even once, even pecking him on the nose as a show of gratitude. This instance would be no different; she leaned back in the recliner, letting her arms collapse on the armrests, and wiggled her toes in an open invitation.

"Alright, Makoto. Give me your best shot."

Taking a deep breath, Makoto grasped one foot with each hand, the pads of his thumbs resting on her soles. He then proceeded to gently press into her skin, rubbing soothing circles into her soles that made her involuntarily sigh in relief.

"Ahhh. Makoto, that…that feels so niiice!"

Grinning, Makoto replied "Glad I could help" before continuing his light massage.

As Kyoko fell into a state of relaxation, she asked offhandedly "So, what did you think of the rooms we visited?"

Pausing his massage for a moment to collect his thoughts, Makoto answered "I've gotta admit…it's definitely a lot homier than I thought it would be. I guess I was expecting something a little…" Makoto smiled apologetically as he confessed "I don't know, uppity?"

Smiling at her husband to let him know she wasn't offended, she assured him as he moved to rub her heels "Don't worry about it. I know that my grandfather's reputation and how grandiose this house looks on the outside can give off the impression that my family was wealthy and fancy. But, Makoto…remember what I said when I rescued you from the garbage pit?"

"Even among actual detectives, many people haven't heard of us. You also said that you made a conscious effort to conceal your existence."

Kyoko closed her eyes, smiling at Makoto's accurate memory as she confirmed while he moved to soothe the balls of her feet "Indeed. And for those very reasons, we also adopted a fairly minimalist lifestyle. For you see, if we all lived in grandeur, then if for no other reason that our real estate, we would have been easy to locate. My grandfather was the first to own a mansion in the Kirigiri family, and that was only after he had largely retired from his detective work."

Nodding in understanding, Makoto suddenly felt silly for making such a racket over moving to Fuhito's mansion. As Makoto was about to get up, he was stopped by Kyoko's sudden voice.

"Makoto, wait."

"…What's up, Kyoko?"

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, Kyoko asked quietly "Could you…get my toes too, please?"

Makoto blinked, before softly smiling, moving closer to her toes and replying "All you had to do was ask."

He then proceeded to pepper the bottoms of each of her toes with light kisses, getting them damp with his saliva before pressing his thumbs into her toes, rubbing at her pads as well as her joints, making the mother-to-be sigh, feeling her knuckles crack with pleasure at Makoto's ministrations.

"S…sooo gooooddddd!"

As Kyoko moaned in pleasure, Makoto spoke "So…I think…living on the first floor for now…I could be happy with. I even think there might be a good room for the baby once they're old enough."

"…You mean my old room that we found?"

Makoto nodded, recalling when she showed him the room she had slept in when her grandfather had adopted her; it was a small, lavender room with an untouched mattress that had gathered dust over the years.

"Could we just…wait until after Christmas? I still…kind of want to have our baby's first Christmas at our apartment. Then we could move in here once the new year starts."

Smiling Kyoko consented "Of course we can, sweetie." As Makoto finished massaging her toes and put her socks and boots back on her, Kyoko looked to the table next to her, her eyes widening at what was placed on it as she exclaimed "Oh! Makoto, look!"

Makoto looked at the coffee table, his eyes widening at what appeared to be a family photo that he never expected to see.

"Your Dad, and your Mom. They're holding you…with your grandfather?!"

As Kyoko pushed down the lever that controlled the recliner, she explained "It was thanks to my mother, but there was a time when I used to visit my grandfather with my parents." Smiling wistfully at the memory, Kyoko further elaborated "Dad and Jii-chan tolerated each other, but once Mom was in the same room with them, my father's smiles became genuine."

Indeed, Makoto noted, Jin seemed to have a happy smile as he stood next to Hibiki, holding a two-year-old Kyoko who was wearing a white shirt and blue skirt, her hair styled in braided pigtails. Fuhito stood next to them, a soft smile on his face as he gazed upon his toddling granddaughter.

"Once my mother died and my father left out of anger, that's when the house started to feel less like a home and more like a prison. Eventually, as Jii-chan encouraged me to hate my father and resist forming any emotional connections, I started feeling numb to it all."

Makoto gazed worriedly at his wife, feeling sorry for her for having to grow up under such harsh conditions.

_Grow up too fast is more like it…_"Kyoko…"

_Stop, crying, Kyoko! It's unbecoming of a Kirigiri detective._

_B…but Jii-chan! I feel so lost! I want my daddy! I want my mommy! *Waah*_

_And therein lies the danger in forming emotional connections; you start to feel sorrow and pain when you lose the people they're connected to. If you cannot let go of your anguish, then direct that energy as hatred towards your father._

_Hate *sniff* daddy? But I could never hate daddy!_

_You must, Kyoko! He let your mother die, he abandoned you. He is the cause of your negative emotions, so you must hate him!_

"Kyoko?"

Kyoko blinked, realizing she was reliving one of her memories. Looking up at her husband, she saw Makoto's worried face, his eyes swirling with fear for her.

"Are…are you okay?"

After a momentary pause, she assured him "I'm alright, Makoto; I just spaced out for a bit, that's all." Holding her arms out, she asked "Help me up?"

Smiling, Makoto nodded, grasping his wife's wrists and gently pulling her up, letting her get reaccustomed to standing up before letting go.

Once she was safely on her feet, Makoto asked "well then, shall we…hmm?"

Kyoko followed her husband's stare as she caught him gazing at what appeared to be a generic photo album on the nearby bookshelf. Makoto quickly walked up to it, removing the book from the shelf and started flipping through it.

Makoto's eyes started to sparkle with adoration as he said excitedly "Kyoko! Look at this!" He flipped the album around to show her its contents as he cooed "It's your baby pictures!"

Indeed, the album was filled to the brim with old pictures of Kyoko's first two years of childhood, most likely taken by Koichi Kizakura.

"I…I can't believe my grandfather kept it…all these years…"

Tucking the album under his arm, Makoto exclaimed "We are SO taking this with us!"

Kyoko's eyebrow rising in surprise, she asked incredulously "You actually want to take that back to the apartment?"

With a teasing smirk that he had picked up from all the time spent with his wife, Makoto retorted "Kyoko Naegi, you have my baby pictures to look at, so it's only fair that I have some of yours."

Sighing, Kyoko smiled in amusement as she acquiesced "…Very well, Makoto. If you absolutely want it, then I won't stop you."

Grinning Makoto turned around and suggested "Well, let's get back home, honey!"

As Kyoko kept pace with her husband, her recollection of that early memory with her grandfather, as well as the lack of parental warmth associated with it, came rushing back. She lowered her gaze towards her swelled baby bump, fear and doubt starting to nestle in her heart.

_My grandfather taught me to repress emotional connections, my dad was never exactly Father of the Year, and my mother died before she could teach me anything about what it meant to be a parent._ Cradling her womb with her hands, Kyoko started to wonder.

_Can I truly be the mother this baby needs? Or am I just gonna be a disappointment to them and Makoto?_


End file.
